A God is Only as Powerful as the Ones Who Worship Him
by Iridice
Summary: A young god of mischief with no worshippers is barely a god at all. This is a fact that Loki is familiar with. So, when he finally gains one in a small human named Hiccup, he will do whatever he can to keep them as his own. Even break the rules a little...
1. Worship Begins

_...When Someone Needs Help Only You Can Give._

A long time ago, in a place that none have seen but all have heard of, a young boy was pulled by his brother into a room he knew better than any other.

"Brother, why must you hurry so?" The young boy asked, ignoring the feel of bruises forming on his delicate wrist.

His elder brother grinned as he finally stopped in front of a looking glass that had seen better years. He released the younger and spread his arms grandly.

"I have discovered something amazing! Look with awe and know that your big brother is clearly the best warrior in all of Asgard!"

The younger blinked at this proclamation before tilting his head curiously to the side.

"What of Father?"

The elder's hand's fell and he looked slightly sheepish.

"Save for Father…"

The younger smirked before nodding in agreement. Then he turned his eyes to the looking glass and wondered what it was that made his brother so excited. He looked for a very long moment at the image displayed before him. Then his brow furrowed and he turned once more to his brother, who stood in a position of pride at his side.

"Why must I look in awe?"

His brother seemed to sag from his stance and looked at him sadly.

"Are you not impressed?" The younger looked at him with confusion as he sulked. "I found it quite pleasing when it first caught my eye… Is it not something one should be happy for?"

"What are you talking about? What is impressive about a village of humans?"

There was a long and very frustrating pause then, as the two brothers seemed to absorb the situation together. Then, without much warning, the elder of the two started to shout.

"Did you not see it?! The grand display of the their worship?! The very thing that makes them important?! Be more observant Brother and look closer!"

The youngest brother was pushed closer to the glass by a heavy hand and forced to look, once more, at the small village of humans in front of him. He ignored the annoyance gnawing at him and searched the image for something of any importance. It didn't take too long. Surrounded by the buildings that served as the human's homes was a statue. A statue of his elder brother.

"They worship you…" He whispered in astonishment.

His brother seemed to swell with pride beside him.

"Indeed! You see now how amazing my discovery is! These people see me as their god! Just as they do Father! It is something to celebrate, is it not?"

"Well…" The younger began before looking at his brother's pleased expression. His fist clenched and he smiled widely at the one who had always cared for him when everyone else did not. "It is a grand thing to celebrate. Father will surely be pleased when he hears of this. Mother as well."

His brother's eyes seemed to glow with happiness.

"Truly?"

He barely paused as he unclenched his fist and quickly hugged the larger boy to him.

"Why, of course! They will be immensely pleased and proud of you when they hear such wonderful news! And the others, well, I'm sure they will be even more impressed than myself. After all, I always knew that you would become as worshipped as Father is someday. I am happy to see that that day is today. I am very proud of you brother."

He said this with more sincerity than he himself had expected. Honestly, he was rather surprised that most of these words were true. Still, he restrained himself from saying more, lest he do something he might regret.

"Loki…"

The young wordsmith blinked in surprise when his brother enveloped him in a fierce hug. He ignored the pain of creaking ribs as he hugged Thor back. When he was finally released he was worried that the elder would cry before he suddenly spoke.

"You will celebrate at my side this night. After I tell everyone about this wonderful occasion, you must join me at the table and revel in the glory with me. I cannot enjoy such festivities without my greatest supporter there to enjoy them with me."

Loki blinked before smiling and squeezing his brother's shoulders.

"Of course. I would want nothing else."

And with this, Thor grinned before running off to spread the news of his most recent accomplishment. Then, when Thor was long gone and nobody else remained in the great library save for himself, Loki screamed. He screamed and ranted and begged the fates to tell him why his brother was so fortunate. He fell to his knees and sobbed like the child he no longer was, and begged for the answer to his eternal struggle.

"Why must he always be better than me?"

"Argh!"

Loki jumped in alarm and looked frantically at his surroundings.

"Dear Odin, why have you punished us like this! What have we done wrong?!"

The boy blinked as he realized where the noise was coming from. He gazed, once more, into the looking glass and watched as a woman sobbed into her husbands chest as he screamed at the sky.

"Stoick…" The woman murmured.

Her husband, for that was the only thing he could be, looked down at his wife and held a large hand to her cheek.

"We will fix this. I don't care how hard it will be, but we will fix this. I will not let our child die."

Loki stared in shock as he realized what was happening. The woman was heavily pregnant, but she seemed pale and sickly. She looked weak and her stomach looked far too small.

 _'Her baby is dying…'_ He thought with a heavy feeling in his heart. _'She has grown ill, and now her baby will die before it even gets the chance to live.'_

He was saddened by this thought.

"Please, Gothi, is there anything we can do?"

The man looked over to an old woman that Loki remembered seeing once. She was quite impressive in her own right. Although his brother had not understood the reason why at the time, **he** had. She was an intelligent woman with the uncanny ability to look straight at him when he was watching her through the glass. Just as she was looking now. Except, this time, she wasn't just looking at him. This time, she seemed to be pleading.

Loki hesitated for a moment. He wondered briefly if he was just imagining things, but was sure that he was not. And so, he steeled himself slightly and thought for a moment. He thought about the world he was watching and all of the things he knew were in it. Then he found a solution.

As carefully as he could, using the knowledge of worship he had learned from his mother, he pushed the idea into the old woman's head and hoped that he had made it clear enough for her to understand. He was happy to see that he had succeeded when the woman's eyes widened in astonishment, before she nodded and started to write symbols into the sand. A few moments later, the couple left the woman's presence and hurried off to complete the seemingly impossible task they had been given. Loki spared a moment to hope that he had given the right advice before he looked curiously at the woman.

She looked right back at him and seemed to stare into his eyes for a moment before she bowed to him with as much grace as her little old body could muster.

 ** _"Thank you, God Loki, for answering my plea. I am humbled by your kindness, and hope that you will continue to be a kind and merciful god from this day on."_**

The words were not spoken aloud, but Loki heard them as clear as a bell in his mind. And he watched, stunned, as the woman finally walked off and into her home.

 _'God… She called me God…'_

"Loki!"

The boy jumped and almost destroyed the looking glass in his surprise as his brother ran in, shouting his name. When his heart had finally calmed, Loki turned to him as innocently as he could.

"Yes, Thor?"

"Father has thrown a feast in celebration, just as you said he would! Come! We must hurry before they start the festivities without us!"

Loki remained silent at his proclamation but allowed himself to be pulled towards the dining hall without resistance.

He did not flinch at the roughness of Thor's handling.

Nor did he mention what had just transpired a moment ago.

He simply smiled and eventually started to laugh as the realization sunk in.

 _'I am a God too.'_


	2. The Offspring of Lightning and Death

_...In a Conveniently Condensed Human Package._

The Celebration was wondrous, as they always were.

Thor had the time of his life, which wasn't at all surprising, while Loki was miserable all throughout, which was also not at all surprising. The poor boy was relieved when it finally ended.

He returned to his room feeling exhausted from both the feast and his brother's insistence that he be dragged to his own room by none other than his younger, and quite a bit weaker, sibling. Loki was irritated by the demand but complied none the less. After all, he truly loved his elder brother and would easily do anything for him if asked to do so. Still…

"That idiot." Loki grumbled as he rubbed the sore shoulder Thor had been leaning on moments before. "How does he even **get** mead? I never see it approaching him, and yet it always appears in his hand. Whoever is the cause of this should be smacked and banned from the palace whenever we have feasts."

He continued to grumble as he undressed and slowly prepared himself for bed. Night had fallen long ago, but the celebration hadn't even ended yet. The only reason why he wasn't still there was because of his brother suddenly falling off of his seat and onto their Mother's lap. She had immediately told both boys to head off to their rooms and sleep, much to their Father's dismay. But, of course, Thor was far too drunk from the mysteriously appearing mead to go to his room on his own. This left only one solution to the problem. Loki had to escort, read carry, his brother back to his bedroom by himself. And, although Loki was not so weak as to be incapable of such a task, it was still rather difficult to control the path of someone as large and strong as Thor when he was so drunk that he couldn't even tell what realm he was currently in.

Loki sighed as he fell onto his bed with a soft little thump. He looked at the ceiling and simply stared, waiting for his mind to settle after such a long evening. So much had happened in the space of a few short hours. He needed a moment to fully digest it all.

A banging on his door woke him up the next morning.

His wardrobe immediately caught fire from his knee-jerk reaction, before he realized what was happening and quickly put it out. The door burst open and he wasn't surprised when his brother ran in and tackled him onto the sheets. They struggled with each other for a moment before Loki finally managed to gain the upper hand and use the soft fabric to pin his brother to the bed. Thor struggled minutely with his new bonds before giving up and relaxing into the comfortable mattress. He grinned up at his little brother.

"Good morning, Loki. I hope you slept well."

Loki smiled kindly at the elder while he sat on his stomach.

"Good morning, Thor. I slept quite well last night, thank you for asking. Yourself?"

"Ah! I had the most wonderful dream about fighting those large scaled beasts in the human world!"

"Dragons?"

Loki tilted his head as he released the magic keeping his brother in place and carefully slid off of the muscled abdomen beneath him. Thor nodded and sat up, his arms flailing slightly in excitement.

"Yes! Those creatures!" The elder brother shouted at the younger's curious expression. "I was fighting one of them with nothing but my fists! And I could feel that I was a great and powerful warrior that had seen many battles just as grand as this one!"

"Really? Were you not yourself?"

Loki was not surprised when his brother failed to catch the implied insult in his words.

"No! I think that I may have been one of those humans from the looking glass!" Thor continued, unhindered, before looking at his brother curiously. "Do you think that it may have been a vision of one of my worshippers?"

At this, Loki paused and thought. He had heard their Mother say that she would sometimes have visions of her worshippers when they were praying to her. She would usually just hear voices, but a vision would appear before her eyes at times. Especially during sleep.

After thinking her words over in his mind, Loki relayed the information back to his brother. Thor practically leapt from the bed in his excitement and ran off to tell their parents about his very first vision. He did not stop to thank his brother, or even say goodbye, but Loki did not mind. Thor could get easily excited at times and end up forgetting that Loki was even there. And, although Loki would appreciate such things, he didn't really mind being ignored sometimes. It was a small price to pay for the usual devotion that the elder held towards his younger sibling.

 _ **"Dear Loki, let the dragon be kind to the two of them."**_

The sudden voice caused the boy to freeze for a moment in surprise.

He had almost forgotten about her.

The old woman from the human world. His very first worshipper.

 _'She's praying to me._ ' He thought with a slow building smile. _'I can hear her prayers!'_

Then his smile fell and he ran around the room, getting dressed as quickly as he could before he left and made his way towards the library. As was the usual, nobody else was in the large room filled with knowledge. As well kept as it was, the only person in the kingdom who really enjoyed spending time there was Loki. After all, Asgard was known for it's many grand warriors.

Not it's few great scholars…

Regardless of how sad this fact may have been, it suited the boy's purpose well enough. It would be difficult to use the glass when there were people around to distract him from his work. And this work was far too important for him to allow distractions.

 _'Thor will be spending his day accepting praise from the rest of the kingdom, so I should have until sunset to complete my task before he might distract me.'_ Loki frowned as he placed one delicate and powerful hand onto the dark surface in front of him. _'Hopefully…'_

The glass flashed for a moment before the light and colors settled into an image.

"What if this doesn't work? What if the beast simply eats us both and feeds our child to it's own?"

Loki flinched at the sudden voice and the harsh words it spoke. Though he couldn't blame the man for doubting, it was still a rather grim thing to say to one's pregnant wife.

 _'Perhaps, this is normal conversation for them?'_ He wondered when the woman simply replied to her husband with calm reassurance. _'Or I have discovered a very odd pair of humans to help. This is also possible.'_

The thought did not stay around long enough for him to truly consider it though. He was forced to ignore it and quickly move on to his intended task when the humans decided to continue on with their trek towards the top of the mountain they were currently climbing.

He would have to be quick and finish it before they reached their destination. He wasn't sure if the dragon he had intended them to see was truly friendly or not. In fact, if he were to be completely honest, he wasn't altogether sure if the creature would even think of them as civilized or not. This could be problematic in a multitude of ways…

Loki moved the image away and replaced it with another. He looked upon the inside of a very beautiful cave, filled with stones that glowed blue and purple with flame. Surrounded by these stones, was a great dragon as dark as night. Her body was easily the size of a horse and shaped quite similarly to that of a salamander. Large wings, meant for fast and powerful flying, rested on the creature's back as it slept peacefully.

For a moment then, Loki felt slightly guilty for disturbing her. The poor thing was obviously tired. Why that was, he wasn't sure, but he knew that it would likely continue to cause her trouble in the future. Still, the humans needed help and they needed it now, before the child perished in the wake of it's mother's ill health. And so, with a gentle tugging of guilt in his heart, Loki spoke to the sleeping dragon.

"Mother of fast flying night breeds, hear my call and wake from your slumber."

His voice seemed to boom from within the cave, though he knew that only the dragon would hear him. She flinched at the sound, but did not stir for a moment.

Then, with a quiet huff, large blue eyes that held the same blue and purple flames of the caves own walls opened and turned to look straight at him. The two beings stared at each other for a moment.

The silence between them was tense. But the dragon eventually closed her eyes and, with a gusty sigh, slowly sat up to properly face him. When she looked him in the eyes again, the dragon looked simply curious instead of angry.

"Greetings, being from the outer realms. I have heard your call, now tell me why it is that you have appeared before me this day."

Her voice was regal, and reminded him heavily of his Mother. It made him feel slightly less worried about her reaction to his question.

"I have a request."

The dragon blinked before tilting her head and giving him a confused look.

"Whatever could you request of me that you cannot gain yourself?"

"I am not looking to gain anything, save for the loyalty of my worshippers."

"Do you speak of those humans on the empty isle to the north?"

"Yes, though only one of them worship me, this human has asked me for something that I cannot provide without your aid."

"Well, what is this thing you have been asked to provide?"

Loki sighed and looked at the dragon with regretful eyes.

"The survival of a child."

The dragon's eyes widened as she seemed to realize what he was asking for. She whined deep in her throat and curled her tail around the two small objects she had been sleeping with. Then, she looked back at him with so much sadness in her eyes, he felt like his heart was ripping in two.

"Why must you ask this of me?"

He hesitated before answering her with more honesty than he had ever given to anyone, save for his mother.

"I want this child to live with my guidance. I am hoping that it will know me as the one who helped it live and think of me as their rightful God. I want to save the unborn being that will one day become my most loyal worshipper."

The dragon whined once more as she nudged the small eggs at her feet. Then, without looking at him, she pushed one of the eggs further into the cave. The other remained with her.

"I will accept your request, though I ask you to provide me with one in return."

Loki nodded.

"Of course. If there is anything I can help you with, I will do so without complaint."

He froze as she looked at him with pleading eyes that seemed to amplify the strange surging of strength that entered him at that moment.

"Let them know one another."

"Excuse me?"

The young God almost jumped in surprise when the dragon shouted at him.

"Please! Let my children know each other! Let them know that they have family! Even if they live as opposite forces, let them know each other as the siblings they were meant to be!"

Heavy drops of boiling water fell from her eyes as she screamed. Loki's heart went out to the poor mother. She only wished for the happiness of her children. Both of her children.

He could not deny her this courtesy.

He bowed to the dragon, who stared at him in shock as he spoke.

"If it is what you wish, I will guarantee the meeting of your two children. Regardless of circumstances, I will make sure that the two learn of their relation to each other. I swear upon my own life that they will know each other as the siblings they are."

And he gasped as the strength from before surged again. When the feeling settled, he rose from his bow and looked into the eyes of his second worshipper.

"Thank you, God Loki. I will help this family, just as you have asked, and raise my remaining child to be strong enough to meet their sibling in the future." She said this with a deep and humbled bow before raising her head to look steadily into his eyes. "And I will teach him of your strength and kindness. I will show him the proper path as a worshipper of the great God Loki."

Although he would never admit this, Loki blushed slightly at her words.

He smiled and nodded to her in thanks. Then, as his mouth opened to continue the conversation, the sound of human footsteps reached both of their ears and the dragon turned to face the new arrivals. The two froze when they saw her and Loki watched as the man started to reach for the axe at his side. But his hand was stopped by the much smaller hands of his wife. She looked him steadily in the eye before she walked ahead and bowed before the dragon.

"Dear Beast of the Night, I beg of you to hear my plea."

There was a beat of silence as the woman waited for some kind of response. Then…

"I am listening, human."

"By Odin, it speaks!" The man gasped.

The woman rose from her bow without showing her surprise.

"I am ill, dragon, and heavily with child. Our healer has told me that my child will not survive long enough to be born if I continue to carry it as I am." She paused, holding her arms over stomach. When she looked up at the dragon, her eyes were determined and sad. It reminded Loki of the dragon's own expression from mere moments ago. "But I can save my baby if you provide me with your aid."

The dragon cooed at the poor woman that reminded her, very much, of herself. She ignored the shocked looks she received from the two humans as she lowered herself towards her fellow mother. After a hesitant pause, the woman reached a hand out to the dragon and restrained herself from jumping back when it was met with the dark creature's scaled head. The dragon allowed her hands to wander before looking the mother in the eye once more.

"I understand your pain. And I will help you if you agree to let me see the child when it is born."

The woman blinked in surprise.

"Is that all?"

"Yes. That is all I ask for. If you do me this one courtesy, I will save your child."

"Why do you ask this of us, dragon?"  
The two females looked at the man in surprise. They had almost forgotten he was there.

"I want to know the child that was almost my own."

"Your own?"

"Yes, this child will only survive by taking the life of my own. It will take on the years my egg would have had. In exchange for this, I want to meet the child that would have been my own, if things had been different."

The two humans looked at the dragon with surprise. Then, a smile appeared on the mother's face as she nodded.

"Of course. You deserve to know them. They are your child, just as much as they are mine." She held her husband's hand in her own and placed the other over her heart in a solemn gesture. "I promise you that I will return with my child and personally introduce you as his second mother."

The man seemed ready to protest, but he stopped when he saw the boiling tears falling from the dragon mother's eyes.

"Thank you. Truly you are a human deserving of the child I have born." Then the dragon pushed the egg towards them and allowed herself to lay down. "Take my egg and drink the fluid within it's shell. When you feel lightning in you gullet, remain still and your child will be guaranteed survival. Though I will not promise good health for either of you."

"Very well." The woman said as her husband picked up the large deep blue egg. "I will trust your words."

Then, the egg was cracked open by the large man's axe and his wife poured the thick black fluid down her throat. When the liquid had been completely consumed, she placed the empty egg-shell onto the ground in front of her. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the woman gasped. And screamed.

Her back arched painfully and she clutched her stomach tightly as she screamed loud enough to make Loki's ears ring.

"Stop!" The dragon shouted as she grabbed the woman's husband with her tail. He struggled in an attempt to help his wife, but froze when the dragon looked into his eyes. "You must not interfere. If you break the connection, you will kill both of them. Your wife will only live if you wait for her to concur the pain."

The man looked back at his screaming wife. She had remained still, just as the dragon had ordered.

"What is happening to her?"

She only glanced at the woman on the ground, sympathy filling her bright blue eyes.

"She is accepting the blood of a dragon into her womb. That means accepting the flames we are born with into her own body. It is the only way for her to properly birth my young. Unfortunately, it is incredibly painful."

"When will it stop?"

"When her body has accepted the flames." The dragon looked around at the stone around her. Glowing blue and purple rock filled with the fire of dragons past. Then she looked at the mother in front of her. "She is a strong human. I'm sure that it will end quickly for her. So wait for your mate. She will return to you soon."

With this said, she placed the large human back onto his feet and continued to wait for the screaming to end. After a small moment of hesitation, the man joined her. And Loki watched, anxiously, through the glass.

It took only three minutes for the screaming to stop. The woman gasped in a harsh breathe before collapsing from exhaustion. Her husband almost ran towards her, but he stopped long enough to silently ask the dragon for permission. A nod was all he needed.

As he held his trembling wife close, Loki could hear the woman's quiet mumbling.

"It died, Stoick. I felt it's heart stop beating, and then the lightening struck my insides." Heavy tears fell from her eyes as she smiled. "But then I felt it start back again. I felt it's rebirth."

"Valka…"

"It was beautiful…"


	3. It is Fun to Keep Secrets

**_…_** ** _But it is more fun to share them._**

The sun shone brightly on emerald green fields as a collection of young asgardians ran around, their laughter filling the air as they attacked each other with blunt weapons made of strong wood.

Loki sighed as he watched them from afar.

His brother was out there, amidst the rabble, fighting with a grin on his face. Unsurprisingly, he appeared to be the one causing the most damage out of the four. He was covered in dirt and grass, though not as much as his comrades were. One particular boy was completely coated in the grime. So much so, in fact, that you couldn't distinguish any of his features from any sort of distance away. The other three fighters were far better off and continued to laugh whenever the other boy's coat of grime became even thicker during their scuffle.

Thor roared, rather suddenly, from a corner of the miniature battlefield and charged towards his unsuspecting opponents at full speed. Loki smiled a little as the others all yelped in surprise before being swiftly overtaken by his elder brother. He watched silently from his perch on a hill not too far from the action, watching but not participating in the sparring match taking place in front of him.

Thor had woken him up that morning in his usual way, tackling him out of his bed before shouting out his plans for the day. Said plans involved the two of them going out to the open fields near the edge of the kingdom for a friendly "Battle Against Brethren", as Thor preferred to call it. Upon reaching the fields and discovering that Thor had meant for the battle to include more than just themselves, Loki apologized to his brother and said that he would be sitting out on this particular match. Thor was not happy but did not question it after Loki said that he was still tired from attempting some spells the day before.

And so Loki remains, unwilling to fight but still willing to watch, sitting on the little hill in a corner of the field. Thor meanwhile, without anybody noticing, was also watching his brother in return as he fought with his friends. He didn't understand why Loki was sitting out of the fight, though he did know that it had nothing to do with being tired.

 _'_ _Loki does not tire easily, after all.'_ Thor couldn't help but think with pride. He knew his brother was physically weaker than him, but he also knew that he was far more powerful as well. Loki could do countless amazing things with his magic for hours on end without tiring from it. Though, admittedly, Loki still had a limit of how much power he could use in one moment, it did not take long for him to recover after the act.

 _'_ _Also…'_ Thor glanced once more at his brother as he avoided two attacks at once. It had surprised him when Loki had admitted to some kind of weakness in front of the others. His little brother had a tendency to hide such things from everyone save for himself and their mother. Saying that he was too tired to spar while in the presence of Thor's friends was not normal.

 _'_ _What has him so distracted today? Has something happened without my notice?'_

Thor liked to think that he, at least vaguely, understood his younger sibling and his eccentric ways. He liked to think that he knew all there was to know about Loki while Loki knew all there was know about him in turn. He liked to think that his brother shared things with him, regardless of how reluctant he always was to do so. In fact, Thor took great pride in the amount of trust his brother gave him and tried his best to keep from losing it.

It was one of the reasons why he had gone straight to Loki when he discovered the statue built by the humans in his honor. Why he was so incredibly happy when Loki said he was proud. Why he had clung to Loki in his delirious state during the feast held in his honor. And why he was so worried about Loki's behavior now.

As he swung at one of his opponents, he thought back to the past few months and the strange behavior his brother had been showing all the while.

Loki had been spending far more time in the library than usual recently. Although, admittedly, Loki spent a rather large portion of his time in the library normally. The amount had simply increased, meaning that he spent even less time with his older brother who was feeling the difference in a painful sort of way that he did not want to admit.

Loki also seemed to be quite tense lately. It almost seemed like he was waiting for something to happen. This was something that had, in turn, left everyone else in the castle looking carefully around themselves in alarm. Thor, himself, had been slightly paranoid for a couple of weeks before he decided that Loki was really just waiting for something to happen instead of waiting for someone to react to a particular prank he had pulled.

All of this, along with Loki's recent reactions to him appearing in the library had been hinting at something bothering his little brother in some way or another.

Speaking of reactions…

Loki seemed to be watching him from across the field. He didn't seem very happy. Content, maybe. Bored, probably. Happy though? Not at all.

 _'_ _Perhaps a bit of a performance will tease a smile out of him.'_ Thor thought, with a devious smile of his own, as he quickly snuck around the main battle and over to a corner of the field. Then, when the timing seemed right, he let out his loudest battle cry and rushed forward to attack all of his friends at once. He grinned in triumph when he saw the small, but genuine, smile on his younger brother's face. He spent the next few hour trying his best to make Loki smile until he finally succeeded in making him laugh instead.

Loki felt like his sides were splitting as he laughed on his hill far from the battle. Thor had been acting far more ridiculous than usual during this particular sparring match, he noticed. He had executed six fantastic surprise attacks and had successfully distracted all four of his opponents with twelve various stories and words that none of them, Loki included, had been expecting to hear. Then, finally, Thor had done the most ridiculous thing possible.

"Damn these tiny flying creatures! How dare they attack the almighty Thor!"

Loki laughed harder as Thor continued to swat at the air with his weapon, "accidently", hitting each and every one of his opponents instead. The others flailed as well, trying to run away from the frenzied attacks of his elder brother, to no avail. He ran after them, still swatting at imaginary bees, until he'd managed to chase all of them out of the fields. Only then did Thor stop flailing. After a moment of watching the others run towards the kingdom, turned back towards Loki and **bowed**.

Loki lost it.

The elder sibling grinned at his success as he raised his head and made his way towards the younger. Loki's laughter was a rare treat that Thor enjoyed whenever he got the chance to do so. It was the bright and unrestrained laughter of one who simply couldn't help themselves anymore. It was something that almost nobody else in the kingdom had heard before. Save, of course, for Thor.

It took a moment, but Loki eventually stopped laughing and asked his brother why he had been acting so strangely during the fight. Thor shrugged.

"You seemed quite bored sitting up here with nothing to do, so I thought I would make things more interesting for you." He finished with a grin.

Loki smiled softly in return and leaned against him as soon as he sat down. For a moment, there was nothing but silence between the two, as they stared off into the distance together. Then, Loki sighed and Thor turned his head slightly in concern.

"You are a good brother, Thor."

The elder froze before a tender look entered his eyes and he wrapped a strong arm around the smaller from leaning against his side.

"As are you, Loki. I could never ask for one greater than yourself, as I am sure one such as that does not exist."

Loki smiled in response, but the smile seemed troubled. He looked guilty, though for what Thor was uncertain. Another moment of silence reigned before Loki finally spoke once more.

"Thor…" He hesitated. Thor waited. "I have been keeping something from you."

Thor blinked.

"Something important?"

"Yes…"

Another moment of silence, the air now seeming solid between them as Thor thought about what his brother could possibly be hiding. He seemed upset about it. He had also said it was important. Perhaps…

Thor's eyes widened and looked over to his brother, alarmed.

"Did something happened to Sleipnir?! Or Fenrir?! Are they ill?! Please do not say that you have been tending to them by yourself! I understand you are capable but they are your friends, Loki! You should not be suffering such pain on your own!"

Loki was becoming slightly confused and a little bit concerned. His brother was now ranting about his emotional stability while he tended to the, non-existent, injuries of two of his only friends.

"Thor…"

"As you said, I am a good older brother and I would do anything for you, as I hope you realize!"

"Thor."

"I would readily assist you in whatever way possible, even if all I were capable of doing was providing support for you!"

"Thor!"

"You may have my support for as long as you need it!"

Loki huffed and snapped his fingers. A glowing green energy quickly wrapped itself around Thor's head, covering his mouth and halting his frantic ramblings.

"Thor." Loki stated, watching his brother closely as the elder turned to look at him with wide and questioning eyes. Eyes that were really far too trusting considering the small but powerful amount of raw power that was wrapped firmly around his skull at the moment. "Sleipnir and Fenrir are both fine. I am not tending to their injuries by myself because they have no injuries to speak of."

Thor blinked before making a useless, but rather impressive, attempt to speak through the magic over his mouth. Loki rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers once again, a useless gesture that he only used because of the expressions it garnered when his magic silenced someone.

"Then what is the important thing you have been keeping from me?" Thor repeated.

Loki stiffened a bit, but answered without hesitation.

"On the night when you showed me the statue your worshippers built, I gained a worshipper of my own. I gained another the next day, after helping some humans with a particular problem. I am now considered a god. Just as you are, though on a smaller scale."

One would think that Thor would be happy to hear these words from his younger brother. One might even think that Thor would be so elated that he would pull Loki in for a bone-crushing hug, just as he always did when he was especially excited about something. One would not think that Thor would be angry for any reason.

One would be wrong. Thor was absolutely livid.

"Loki."

One did not understand what a thunderous expression truly was until they saw this particular look on the lightning god's face. The younger cowered in the face of his sibling's wrath.

Loki knew why his brother was angry. He'd known from the very beginning that he would be. He just wished he didn't have to deal with the fallout now.

"Yes, Thor?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

There was only a small amount of hesitation before Loki answered.

"I wanted to deal with the situation by myself. At least at the beginning. I knew you would want to celebrate in some way or another, so I kept it a secret from you until I just wasn't able to tell you anymore… Are you angry?"

"Yes." Loki flinched at the harsh response. "But I am also proud and excited and I want you to realize just how angry I am before I let myself feel those emotions as well."

"You are?" Loki asked in surprise. Thor's expression remained unchanged however as he responded.

"Yes. Now, do you understand how angry I am that you kept this from me?"

A hesitant nod was his brother's response.

"Good." Thor nodded as well, more sure than Loki's had been. Then, the thunderous expression was replaced by a sunny smile as the young warrior wrapped his arms around the thin frame of his beloved younger sibling. "I am so proud of you brother! I knew you would gain worshippers! I knew from the moment I saw my own statue in that Midgardian village! This is wondrous news!"

Thor's shouts seemed to echo throughout the clearing as all of the tension in Loki's shoulder's melted away. He let go of his previous worries, ignored his creaking ribs, wrapped his arms around his brother as tightly as he could, and laughed.


End file.
